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Training in Japan

I am planning to study Japanese in Japan for about six months. I am thinking about training in the martial arts there. I will probably be studying near Tokyo. I am looking for a karate school, a jujutsu school or a school that teaches a jujutsu/karate hybrid because I have a brown belt in Kyokushin Karate and I will be tested for my brown belt next month in jujutsu (my current teachers teach a jujutsu/karate hybrid based on Kyokushin Karate and Genbukan Jujutsu). Have any of you every trained in Japan? If so, what schools can you recommend? I also heard that looking for a dojo in Japan is very different from looking for a dojo in the West. Is that true?

I lived in Japan for a number of years and went to university there, both in Hiroshima and in Tokyo, and have trained (and continue to train at) a number fo different Japanese dojos.

I personally do not think that looking for a dojo in Japan is necissarily any different to looking for one in Britian or anywhere else. You get professional dojos, part time amateur dojos, family oriented dojos, competitive oriented ones, self protection oriented ones, classical preservation oriented ones etc. It is a complete myth that all dojos in Japan are ancient wooden buildings on mountainsides with 80 year old 10th dan instructors who demand austere and repetitive training 4 hours a day and act like it is still the warring states period. If you are familiar with Japanese people and how they behave in their everyday lives (as opposed to how stereotypes portray them) then you should have no trouble fitting in to a dojo environment.

Contrary to popular fantasy, the usual way to start training at a dojo in Japan is not to get an official letter of reccomendation signed in the blood of 3 shihans of impeccable standing but to either turn up and ask to train or to politely phone up the instructor and ask if you can come along.

If your grasp of the Japanese language is not all that great then I can see the possible advantage in finding one with some classes taught in English or an English speaking instructor (not common at all though) but if your purpose of going is to learn some of the language in the first place then I would heartilly reccomend just jumping in.

As for which specific dojos you should think about, from your background it sounds like the daidojuku would be a good fit. Daidojuku do a hybrid of kyokushin karate and judo style grappling with a strong competitive element that they call kudo. They have lots of branches in the Kanto area and the honbu HQ is in Ikebukuro in central Tokyo. If you are more interested in a self protection focus with a karate base then I would reccomend the Kuramoto juku in Otsuka (again, central Tokyo) run by Kuramoto Nariharu who is ex-kyokushinkai. If however you are looking for a change or to try something new then let me know and I will see what I can reccomend.

Actually, yes I have. It was '89/'90 and I did keep a travel diary at the time.

I deliberately didn't seek out Goju specifically - partly because it was hard enough to find a dojo, and partly because I didn't feel it was necessary. I decided to train in whatever style or system was on offer and that's what I did. My Sensei had warned me that they would just want to fight me and in many places, that was what happened. In one dojo I had to fight everyone there; in another, the instructor sent the class home and we fought in private -with armour on!?

I met some amazing people and was punched, kicked, thrown, hit with sticks, locked up, choked out and grappled by them...

I was also welcomed, befriended, fed, watered and housed by them and I can honestly say that I must have paid for training about three times and for food and drink probably less than that. I had very little money and many times I was allowed to sleep in the dojo overnight before heading off the next day. I found the hospitality overwhelming - humbling even.

I've been meaning to find the diary (I think it must be at my mum's) and sketch out the basics for a book but I keep thinking 'who would want to read it?'

Maybe I should just get on with it and get it down on paper. As I'm sure you are very aware, wrriting is a lot like training in that it is very easy to find excuses not to start!

Gavin J., Gavin M., you're messages reassure me. I thought I had to write an introduction letter and that the teachers in Japan had to get to know applicants before accepting them in their dojo.

Thank you, Gavin J., for the references. I have heard of Kudo/Daidojuku before because of a dojo near my university. I will definately check out Kuramoto Nariharu's dojo.

Whoa, Gavin M., hitch hiking in Japan must have been exciting! As far as publishing your diary and your experiences is concerned, I would be interested in reading them. I have read "Four Shades of Black" and I loved the introductions you wrote for each of the chapters. Furthermore, I think your experience in Japan will be beneficial to young guys like me (I am 22 years old) who are planning to travel or train abroad.

Actually, yes I have. It was '89/'90 and I did keep a travel diary at the time …

… I've been meaning to find the diary (I think it must be at my mum's) and sketch out the basics for a book but I keep thinking 'who would want to read it?'

I’d want to read it too! So you’ve sold at least two copies before you’ve even written it! :-)

I seriously think that would be a fascinating read and would have strong mainstream appeal as well as martial appeal. Think of how popular “Angry White Pyjamas” and “Moving Zen” have been. I feel such a book could be HUGE